Healing Touch
by Durnesque
Summary: Tezuka goes to the doctor and ends up coming out more confused that he was when he was admitted. TezukaXOC
1. Chapter 1

Story: The Healing Touch (Don't even tell me about how many times you've seen this title. I don't care.)

Pairing: TezukaXOC

Rating T: For sexual references and swearing. I figure you don't have to be 18 or older to be familiar with the word "Damn," and "shit".

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis, or anything else in the fic besides Dr. Griffin.

Set right after high school graduation. We're pretending that he doesn't play tennis for a living. He still plays tennis (or this story would have no point), but doesn't travel around the world living the dream. Use your imagination. Also, keep in mind that I have absolutely no medical education other than what ER has taught me. I am making this up off the top of my head, so don't give me a hard time for it, please. You might have a PhD in medicine, but that doesn't change the fact that I…don't.

**The Healing Touch**

**Chapter 1: Broken**

I spent my entire life being careful, for the most part. Careful, in the sense that I wasn't a reckless maniac who walks around on the tips of my eyeballs on a gravel surface (is that even possible?). Either way, I wasn't a reckless person. Accidents happen every day. Fortunately, I was pretty lucky in the department of not getting hurt, and when I did get hurt, it was a scratch from holding a knife too tightly, or falling down and scraping my knee.

If I was so careful, like I thought, why was I sitting in a hospital room?

I wanted to throw up. I was attempting to fix the garbage disposal with the ever helpful Fuji. My arm is crammed down the drain, and Fuji is standing awkwardly behind me. For some reason which I don't even want to think about, the disposal roars to life. It was like, the life of my right arm flashed before my eyes, and I was suddenly being pushed to the ground. I could hear my mother screaming for my father to call an ambulance. And then I passed out.

I felt stupid now. It's not like I could have fixed the disposal anyways. I glanced around the small room. I had before submitted myself to extreme hospitalization, except to check up on my arm every once in a while. A needle was sticking in my other arm, monitoring my heart rate. If I had to guess, I'd say I wasn't in danger of dying.

The walls were a pale cream color, with a TV hanging from the ceiling. There was a small window seat, with a plastic chair in the corner. I bit my lip. Did I dare take a glance at my hand? I thought about it for several minutes, before turning my head slightly. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that my hand was a shade a dark purple. I lifted my hand to my face, examining it. There was a black thread weaving in and out of my skin, holding my index finger in its place. The others were just bandaged up, with small amounts of "instant band-aid" oozing into my skin. I contemplated vomiting. I was not good with blood, or things relating to blood. Or things that referenced blood.

I could hear the slide of a door, and footsteps coming closer. I dropped my hand, glancing up at my visitor. My mom was there, along with a middle aged man with sideburns that didn't quite match color with the rest of his hair, and a drop dead gorgeous young lady standing next to him. She didn't look much older than I did, so I figured she must have been a nurse.

"How are you feeling?" my mother asked, her eyes glued to my hand.

"Fine," I mumbled. I was tired, and now that I thought about it, my fingers felt like they were on fire.

"They're going to burn, you don't have to lie," the young girl said, scowling. Her head was cocked to the side as she wrote something down on a clipboard that hung to the side of my bed. She was skinny, but not anorexic skinny, with long brown hair that was sloppily tied up in a pony tail. She had these glasses with clear frames that looked like they were going to fall off her nose if she moved a muscle. Her lab coat went to the middle of her thigh, where a blue and red sundress poked out from the end, showing off her beautiful legs.

I stayed quiet. They turned to my mother, talking quietly. After a few minutes, they turned to leave, but I decided that while they were here, they could get me a cup of water.

"Nurse," I called to the girl. But she didn't turn around.

"Yes?" the man asked politely.

"Uh, could I please get a cup of water?"

"Sure thing," he smiled. He left for maybe 30 seconds, and was back with a full paper cup of cold water.

"If that girl wasn't my nurse, who was she?"

"Your surgeon."

I nearly choked on my water. She hadn't been anywhere near old enough to be a professional surgeon, had she?

"How old is she?"

"21."

I stared.

"We really do get that reaction a lot. But not to worry, she's more qualified for that position that anyone in this hospital. Your hand was in good hands." I didn't want to ask him how on earth she had gotten a medical degree before she could drink. Then again, I was so tired, I probably wouldn't have minded if a hobo had sewed my finger back on. I would be angry later, of course.

He left shortly after, and I ended up falling asleep once again. I must have slept for hours, because when I awoke again, it was dark. My mother was poking my arm, saying something about having to leave. I rolled out of bed, put my clothes on, and before I knew it, we were waiting in line to check out with the clerk at the front desk.

That's when I saw her. She was walking towards me, with a paper and pen in hands.

"We need to schedule an appointment for you to come and get your stitches out." I could almost feel my heart sinking. For some strange reason, I had let my hopes rise a little too high, thinking that maybe she was coming to me for something. But she wasn't even facing me. She was facing my mother, who listed off days I could do it, which was pretty much every day. I wondered if this was the way you were supposed to act when you saw a pretty girl. Maybe I was acting weird and she was scared of me. This option didn't seem likely, because I hadn't said two words to the girl.

Maybe that was the problem. Should I have said something? Should I have asked for her phone number? I slumped in my chair as she continued talking to my mother. I was acting pathetic. Maybe it was time to just have a heart, and open up to a girl. I was tired of being lonely.

It was like magic when she turned to me, her violet eyes piercing. "Can I see?" It took me a moment to realize that she was talking about my hand. She lifted it up to her face, gently turning it in her grip. It burned as her fingers touched my skin, but I wouldn't say anything. "On a scale of 1 to 10, how bad does it hurt?"

"6."

"Hmm…" she murmured, placing my hand on my lap. "I might even recommend light physical therapy. You ground that thing up pretty badly. I'm scheduling a follow-up appointment for a week from now, with me." She scribbled something on her paper, and glanced up at me. She was knelt down, face to face with me. "I'm Dr. Griffin, by the way." She smiled, but didn't offer me her hand for understandable reasons. She had perfect, pearly white teeth that glinted in the pale fluorescent lighting.

My mother continued to ramble, but I let my mind wander. For once, I was glad, almost excited to be seeing a doctor.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for reviewing! I really appreciate it. I know there might have been a few or more, ha) typos. Forgive me, I try to read over my work, but apparently I can't seem to catch anything that spell check (unhappy face times infinity) doesn't catch. Anywho, if you read, please review! I mean, if you hate it, don't review, but you catch my drift.

And Tezuka was trying to fix the garbage disposal because he is a MAN, and that's what manly men do.

**Chapter 2: **Game (selection of random nouns for chapter titles) (Speaking of games, I just lost the game.)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis. I do, however, own Dr. Griffin and the man with odd sideburns.

I really hated to admit how lazy I was.

Don't get me wrong, I get things done, and done well. But if you heard the raging battle between laziness and pride that went on in my head every time I was faced with, God, DOING something, you would not want me to watch your dog over the weekend.

It was the summer before college, and I had several lined up to accept me into their beyond professional tennis programs. But I was just so lazy, I did not want to get out of bed to go interview with them. All I wanted to do was lie in bed and get pale and fat like I do every summer. That may be slight exaggeration, but that's the way it felt. I spent most of my summer in my room, eating whatever the heck is in the house and thinking about going outside. Then I would consider the sun, but turned off from the idea of getting my fat ass out of bed, and go back to sleeping. Literally, that's what I did until about two weeks before school started, where I would pick back up a training workout to get in shape for tennis.

I eyed my lonely tennis racket hanging on the wall. Today was my appointment with the hot doctor. I had three hours until I was scheduled to be there.

The phone rang beside me, and I recognized Oishi's phone number.

"Hello?"

"Hi!"

There was silence.

"Is there something you need? I'm in the middle of an intense debate with myself on whether or not to continue being a hermit."

He laughed.

"This isn't funny. This is very serious." I said, wondering if I would still fit into my tennis shorts.

"Then come play tennis with me."

Well that was ironic.

"Now?"

"Yes."

I threw myself out of bed. "I have a doctor's appointment in a couple hours. Where do you want to meet?"

"Just the park. Is your arm hurting you, though? We don't have to play."

"No, I got in a fight with the garbage disposal the other day."

"Are you being serious or sarcastic?"

"I am being 100% serious here. Didn't I already say that?"

He laughed again, even though nothing was funny here. "See you in 10 minutes."

I sighed and hung up the phone, searching for clean clothes. I looked at myself in the mirror for a second. I hadn't let myself go completely. I could still see what was left of my abdominal muscles. I put on t-shirt, grabbed my tennis racket, and made my way to the tennis courts in the park by my house. Oishi was already there, warming up.

This was the first time I had seen him since school got out. He saw me and laughed. "Have you gotten yourself out of bed at all this summer?"

I started stretching. "No."

"It certainly looks it. I haven't seen you this pale since you got sick in freshman year."

Ugh. Freshman year. I was really looking forward to being a freshman again.

We started playing, hitting it lightly back and forth. We barely started playing before I could feel myself wearing out. We played for maybe two hours. No one had kept score, but I'm pretty sure even through my out of shape-ness, I had won.

"So when's your appointment?"

I checked my watch. "20 minutes. But it's right around the corner."

"Can I go? Then we can hang out after wards, get dinner if you want."

I was secretly thrilled by the thought of getting food from somewhere besides my house. "Sure. It shouldn't take too long."

We headed to the office, sitting in the plastic chairs in the waiting room. I checked in, and we waited. And waited. And waited some more.

Finally, maybe a half hour after my appointment was due to start, I saw her. She had jeans on today, a silky looking pink shirt poking out from under her lab coat. She had her sleeves rolled up, hair tied up, with several layers of various professional looking scrubs on. Blood was all over her pale green hospital shirt. She saw me, and I swear to the lord that she sighed and rolled her eyes.

"You're appointment's been changed," she said irritably. "I left you a message last night."

I groaned. Too bad I was too lazy to check the messages. She pulled one of her latex gloves off, holding it in between her teeth. She was hurriedly writing on a sticky note. She tore it off and handed it to me.

"That's my work cell phone number, not the office. I'm a little tied up right now, as I mentioned in the message," she said, bitterness in her voice. "If you're smart you won't call me after midnight." She was so hot, but I couldn't see her softening up.

At all.

Ever.

Oishi and I left. I was dumbfounded, he was reading the number. There was a few minutes of silence.

"She was a bitch," he said finally. "That would bother me if she wasn't so drop dead beautiful."

I just nodded, still confused about what had just happened. I guess I was a little rusty when it came to getting phone numbers, even if it wasn't for hooking up. I found myself wishing I _was_ hooking up with her. I shook the thought from my head, following Oishi to a burger joint on Main Street.

"At least you know it's not a fake phone number," he laughed, midway through dinner. He had been pretty silent for the most part, and so had I.

"You like her, don't you?" he muttered incredulously.

"I don't like her."

"Don't lie to me, man. We've been friends for a long time. I know you better than you think I do. And I know that right now you were totally wishing you had gotten her number to hook up."

Damn it, he was good.

"That doesn't mean I like her. I like how pretty she is. I don't like how much of a heartless bitch she is all the time. I mean, I've seen her twice and the nicest thing she's said to me is 'you might need therapy'," I said, the words burning on my tongue. "If she didn't talk, she would be perfect."

He laughed. "Her attitude leaves a little to be desired, doesn't it? But she is a doctor, and it is her job to get things done right, even if it means being a 'heartless bitch'" he imitated.

I nodded, cramming what was left of my food into my mouth. Why was I suddenly so attracted to her? What made her different from all the other girls I hard turned down? The moment I thought that, though, I knew I already knew the answer. I was finally interested in someone who just couldn't bear to look at me. I was here playing hard to get, never really knowing what I was looking for.

It was time to buckle down and for once, be on the opposing team of "Hard to get".


	3. Chapter 3

Hello all! It's about time for an update, even if it's a short one. I've been pretty busy with school, it being finals week and all. But the upside is that after finals, summer starts! So hopefully then I can be able to update more…if I can drag myself out of bed.  That aside, thanks for reviewing! I really enjoy getting the reviews. And indeed, it is a little OOC, but you know, college is starting. It's about time Tezuka softened up a bit.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis.

**Chapter summary: **Tezuka decides he wants to buy a dog. Go figure.

**Chapter 3: **

"Are you sure that's everything?" My new landlord (whose name I have already forgotten) asked me uneasily, as if he was about to be sick. I could tell he was trying to be nice, but, if anything, I wanted him out as soon as possible.

I eyed him cautiously. There was no way I was going to have a puking landlord in my brand new (NEW!) apartment. (There's a story behind this.)

"No, thank you," I shook his clammy hand. Maybe he was going to have an asthma attack, or maybe it was just because he was incredibly fat. Poor guy had probably never gone up this many flights of stairs in his life (13th floor times 5 trips with heavy boxes). He had admitted to me that he had just acquired title of landlord, and this was only his second day. I put on a face of mock sympathy, but to be honest, I wasn't here to make friends with him.

"Th-then, I'll be on my way, I guess…" he stuttered, and then shut the door quickly behind him. I sighed, glancing around at my nifty little apartment. The college which I had elected to go to was out of dorm rooms, and I was ready to move out of the house, so I bought an apartment right next to campus. I had just moved in today, but I was already feeling lonely.

I jumped off my bed and in one spastic movement, I had the keys in my hand and was flying out the door. The summer sun shone through the glass window in the elevator, which overlooked the college campus and downtown. It was pretty late in the afternoon, but not even close to getting dark. I stopped by the bakery, picking up a pastry(or two). Classes started in just a few days, and I had mixed feelings about them. I was excited, for one, because Fuji would be there with me, and we had several classes together. I was reading to start being a man.

I just kept walking, not really knowing where I was headed. It eventually started to get dark, so I turned around, crossed the street, and attempted to find my way back. The stores started turning on their lights, and everything was suddenly lit up with bright fluorescent light. I stopped at a street corner and pressed the walk button, but something caught my eye. I slowly turned, facing a local pet shop that was closing up. I pressed my nose to the window, eyeing the small group of puppies that were rough-housing in the small crate. They were all so cute, their little tails waggling and the sharp squeaks that was the immaturity of a bark.

Suddenly cedar shavings were flying everywhere, and a great white puppy was unburying himself from the bottom of the crate. His poufy white fur was covered in the brown shavings, and he was shaking, spraying the other puppies with soiled bedding.

He put his massive paws on the screen, looking me right in the face. He licked the screen separating us a few times, then hopped down and curled into a large ball.

"He's cute, isn't he?" a female voice startled me. I turned around. The lights in the pet store had gone out, and a petite girl with black hair and brown eyes wearing a blue "Dog Shop" shirt was smiling at me. "The white one is a great Pyrenees. He's potty trained, too!"

I turned back to the white puppy who had successfully reburied itself in the bedding. "Is he for sale?" I asked, curious. I might look into getting a dog.

"For sale? Man, for you, he's free!"

I stared.

"We've been trying to sell him for months," she was now unlocking the store. "I can't understand why no one wants him." She flicked on the lights, and I followed her in.

"Koby," she whistled, and the white dog was running towards her in a matter of seconds. She picked him up in her arms, gave him a kiss, and handed him to me. He greeted me by slobbering all over my face.

"He likes you!" she was picking up sample size packages of food, shoving them in my pockets. She was a bit too enthusiastic for my taste. In a few minutes, she was shoving me out of the door, locking it, and jogging away to catch her bus.

"But…wait…" I said desperately, but she wasn't in hearing range. "I didn't want this…" I sighed, but made my way slowly back to my apartment. All I wanted to know is if the dog was for sale, not to buy him! The pup had fallen asleep in my arms, snoring lightly. Did my apartment even allow dogs? I didn't even have a collar for the darn thing!

I stopped in front of my tall building, looking up. It was pitch black outside now, except for the lights in the buildings. I took a deep breath, pressed the puppy to my chest, zipped up my jacket over him, and stealthily crossed the lobby to the elevators. I slammed my finger onto the up button, and ran into the first one that opened. I made it! I was safe.

A hand suddenly shot out into the elevator's closing doors. I stared. A beautiful woman who looked my age slid in, a blue and green messenger bag slung around her thin shoulders. She was gorgeous, with long, light brown hair and violet eyes that were magnified by the clear-framed glasses that were slid half-way down the bridge of her sharp nose. She was wearing what any normal person would wear; a green long sleeve shirt and some jeans that were held up by a studded rainbow belt.

"What floor?" the woman turned, staring at me curiously.

It was then that I recognized her; she was the hot doctor! Doctor Griffin. I didn't recognize her without her fancy clothing. There were bags under her eyes, but she looked a little more at peace than she usually did.

"13," I said. I must have looked so dumb, standing there with my arms wrapped around a bulge in my shirt.

"Oh," she murmured. She pressed the button and turned back to face me. "I remember , right?"

I nodded. "Our appointment hasn't been changed, has it? I just moved, so I have no messages…or phone…"

"Ah, no," she glanced at the floor sign. We were at level 6. "Tomorrow, 10A.M., right?"

"I believe so."

"Awesome," she said. She went to turn, but held up her finger in question. "That…" she was pointing to my jacket.

"New puppy," I said quickly. "I don't really know what to do with it though. He pretty much fell into my arms by accident."

The elevator slowly passed level 8.

"I know floors 16 and up allow pets, which is completely ludicrous because you'd think they'd want the pets on the lower levels…" she trailed off.

"And what if you don't live on one of those levels?" I asked smoothly, but I was beginning to feel uneasy. This was getting worse by the second.

She grinned. "Make sure your landlord doesn't find out."

She was really pretty when she smiled. I stood there dumbly for a couple of minutes, staring at her. She had seemed so tense the other times I met her, what was different this time? She wasn't smiling, but her face wasn't all pinched in frustration, either.

"Hey, buddy, this is your level," she said, as if she was questioning my sanity. The door was about to close, but Koby and I made it through before it squished us. I dug around in my bulging pockets for a moment, searching for my key. I set the puppy on the ground as soon as we got inside. He sniffed around for a grand total of 30 seconds, found my bad, struggled for a second to get up, and laid himself down right on my pillow.

"What am I gonna do with you?" I asked him, making myself a cup of tea. He just looked at me, in a way that said, "I don't really care, so long as I don't have to get off this pillow."

I sat down on the small sofa, relaxing myself for the first time that day.

I let my mind wander; I thought about school, textbook fees, things to buy for the dog, how I was going to pay for all of this, how tired I was, how much money Dr. Griffin was making, where to find a job, my appointment tomorrow, where my alarm clock was, and once more on how tired I was. I pulled off my clothes, searching for an old t-shirt and shorts to sleep in. Koby was still watching me, and snuggled up against my chest when I had turned off the lights and crawled in bed.

"What a mess," I whispered to myself, scratching behind Koby's ears. He whined quietly. My eyes drooped, and I knew sleep was upon me.

I fell asleep thinking of Dr. Griffin that night.


	4. Chapter 4

Hi all! Thanks for reviewing. Summer hasn't been going too hot; I recently had to have surgery on my leg for a really un-epic trip that tore the tendon, so I've been sitting in my basement listening to Mika for several days straight. As a result, I'm feeling pretty high off of optimism and, as awesome as that sounds, I have decided to make this chapter as some comic-relief to, uh, this story. I mean not that it seems boring to me. Others may think differently. Either way, here is a rather short chapter that just sort of sprung to life in my brain while facebook-ing. Hope you enjoy.

**Chapter 4: Common Sense. **

Tezuka loses one of his senses to enhance another.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Prince of Tennis. I own Dr. Griffin and all of her awesomeness.

About a week passed, and I started college. My appointment went smoothly; I went in, waited in her office for a couple minutes, found out her name was Madeline (who would have known??), watched her play around with my fingers in a very professional manner for a little bit, and then let her escort me to the front doors. Since then, I had no more meet ups with her in the elevators. I had to give Koby to Eiji, because my fat lard of a landlord saw me and told me he was going to evict me if I didn't get rid of Koby. It was almost heartbreaking to see the little guy go, and it stung a little bit when Koby readily let Eiji take him into his arms. I didn't want to let Eiji know how pathetic I was, so I simply just turned and left. Oishi and Fuji met up with me for lunch, where we saw Ryoma and Momo. It was like being back on my own team. It was almost a bittersweet moment.

My mood was brightened when Fuji told me he moved into the apartment just one floor above me. I was beginning to feel the slightest bit lonely, which was an unusual feeling for me. I normally operated very well by myself, but even then I had my family around me. Here I had no one, except beautiful Madeline Griffin who was just WAY too out of my league.

"So I saw a seriously hot girl jogging up the stairs today." I listened half-heartedly to Fuji's romantic expeditions. It wasn't often that he talked about women. The least I could do was stroke his ego. We were walking to the bookstore, which was a good mile away.

"Oh yeah," Oishi mused, "the one in the ridiculously short shorts and tank top?"

"Those shorts shouldn't have even been legal," Fuji laughed at himself.

"She flew by us, too. She was either really wanting a workout or really in a hurry."

We continued walking, Oishi and Fuji talking about girls. I stayed quiet.

"So Tezuka, how do you like university?" Fuji asked, trying to get me back in the conversation.

"It's alright." I said dully.

"Thanks for that detailed description. How did your tennis team tryouts go?"

"They went alright."

"And you made…"

"Number 1."

"Varsity?"

"Uh-huh." I was feeling a little down. I had a headache, and I was thinking about my hot doctor again. I really needed to get a hobby besides tennis.

"What about you, Fuji?" Oishi asked for me.

"3rd, you?"

"5th."

Fuji smiled, giving him the thumbs up sign.

We eventually made it to the bookstore, bought our books, and we back in our building in a matter of a couple hours. Oishi went home, and Fuji and I were in the elevator with several people. I saw the glimpse of light brown hair and I knew we were in the same ride as Madeline Griffin.

"Dude, that's the seriously hot girl!" Fuji exclaimed in a whisper. Her head turned slightly, a grin pulling on her lips. Most of the people got off on level 3, sporting business suits and briefcases. The elevator was now reduced to Fuji, myself, Madeline Griffin and incredibly masculine man carrying what I recognized as a practice pad for drummers. He was absolutely huge; muscles bulging out of every available spot on his body. His shirt was stretched tightly, almost painfully, across his chest. He was talking animatedly to Madeline, with a voice that was unusually high. She looked back to us once, winked, and returned to listen to her…friend? Fuji came over, and we worked on Biology homework for a good two hours, barely making a dent in the ridiculously hard material. When he left, I crashed on the couch, fully dressed.

It was Monday morning, at the frightful 5 AM, when I was sorely woken up by the sound of beating drums through my open door that led to the balcony. I rolled out of bed, face planted on the floor, and stumbled over to the balcony. I looked out to the football field to see the college drum line banging away, sprinting around the field. I watched in awe for a few seconds as they professionally darted around the field, a beautifully exact sound emitting from them.

Wow. I had never seen anything like it. I showered, got dressed, and made my way to the field. My first class was at 7, anyway. Campus was pretty busy for it being only a little after 5AM. Several kids were studying, reading, or playing card games. The drum line had stopped playing and was playing individually with their friends or dueling. I saw Madeline in the grass not too far where I was standing, letting the rising sun wash over her sweaty body. She was breathing heavily, rubbing her face with a wet cloth. I recognized a set of marching tenor drums sitting in the grass beside her.

I suddenly felt a throbbing pain in my temple. I clutched my head in pain, turning to where the pain had come from. Two blurry figures were holding a baseball bat, standing still with wide eyes. My glasses were cracked and lying on the ground in the dirt.

"Dude, are you okay?" One of the figures was running toward me, sounding concerned.

"Don't worry about it," I said, sitting down on a bench conveniently located a few steps behind me.

"Sorry, man," he slapped me on the shoulder, returning to his friend.

"You must attract injuries," I recognized the sweet voice instantly. Madeline Griffin sat down next to me, picking up my glasses. "Your glasses are trashed."

I looked over to her. From what I could tell, she wasn't smiling. This didn't surprise me.

My vision wasn't good. In fact, without my glasses, I was virtually blind. Everything was just a jumble of color. I reached out for my glasses, but struck something soft and fleshy. Oh please, tell me that wasn't her chest.

"Movin' a little fast there, eh buddy?" she said, humor in her voice. She grabbed my hand, guiding it to my shattered glasses.

I felt my face heating up against my will. "Sorry."

"No worries. I know what it's like to be nearly blind," she said, ironically pushing up her own glasses with her finger. "Do you have an extra pair at home?" I could almost hear it in her voice transforming from student to doctor mode.

"No."

"Are you serious?" she questioned incredulously. "You're saying you've never broken your glasses before, even though you play a sport where people TRY to hit you in the face?"

"How did you know I played tennis?" She'd never seen me play, unless she watched the tryouts, which were pretty boring.

"Please, I'm a doctor. I know which sports work with which muscles. And one of my ex boyfriends was a tennis player."

I didn't really know what to say to that. "So, uh, where can I get them fixed?"

"There's an optometry department on the first floor of the hospital. I can get 'em fixed there."

"Shouldn't I go? I have to tell them my prescription and pay."

"You're in no shape to go anywhere by yourself. And have I mentioned I'm a doctor? I get all medical related things at discounts."

"Wow, thanks."

"I didn't say you're completely off the hook. I expect a week's worth of coffee delivered to my office every day before 10AM."

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Deal," I muttered. What was I going to do? I had class in an hour and a half, broken glasses, and a rip-roaring headache. Her small hand was still wrapped around mine; the broken glasses weaved between our fingers. I was really wishing I could see her face right about now.

"Well I should run," she said, dropping my hand. "You, uh…you should come to the office and wait for your new specs. It's not too far of a walk."

She literally pulled me to her office. Her hands were soft on mine, pulling me along. This got me thinking about how soft her skin was in general. She had touched my hands several times, and each time the feeling kept getting better. I wanted to feel the rest of her just to see if it was as soft as her hands.

What the heck!? I tore my hand out of hers, disgusted with myself.

"Dude, what's your problem?" she asked, irritated. "I have to get to work in 10 minutes and you're walking slower than my grandma, and she can't walk at all."

I let my hand find its way back in hers, following her like a dog. I forced myself to think about tennis to keep my mind off of her. What was wrong with me? I never had a problem keeping my thoughts in check. There was something about her I just couldn't stay away from. So I learned two things today. 1, that when she was in doctor mode, there was no messing around. And 2, that Oishi was right; I _really _liked this girl, and I knew that there was absolutely no chance with her.

I was in for a long day.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Buttons**.

Fuji knows how to press Tezuka's buttons.

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing except Maddie.

It must have been the hottest day of the year.

It most certainly felt like it. It was 1 in the afternoon, and the sun was mercilessly beating on my skin. I loved tennis, maybe not so much 100+ degree weather. Practice was almost over, and everyone was dragging their feet home. Our home tennis courts were in use by a junior tennis tournament that was annually held at the college courts. Everyone had gotten kind of excited by the fact that maybe once, a practice canceled, but no, we had to trek 20 miles out of city limits to a country club in the middle of nowhere to have practice.

For reasons better unsaid, people were bitter about their aching bones and burned skin. You would hear no complaints from my lips, though.

So there we were, lying in the grass, covered in sweat when the question was raised by the ever observant Fuji, "How are we getting home?"

I looked to Oishi. Oishi looked at Fuji. Fuji looked at me.

"Well crap," we all said at the exact same time. Apparently no one had thought of a way to get home. And I was definitely not walking.

"Are we seriously stranded here?" Fuji asked, wiping sweat off his face with his shirt, which had been discarded by the first ten minutes of practice. He was so sunburned that it hurt my eyes to look at his flaming red skin.

"Why don't we just suck it up and get cars?" Oishi said, frowning.

"Because 1, we live 5 minutes walking distance from where we want to go, and 2, because none of us make enough money to buy anything nice." Fuji answered dejectedly. "This is the exception the number 1."

"The track team has a meet here, don't they? Someone surely can give us a ride." I said.

"I don't know anyone on the track team," Oishi said. "Do you?"

"Isn't Maddie Griffin on the track team?" Fuji asked me, looking towards the track, which was crowded with people. Apparently Madeline's brother had dated Fuji's sister or something at one point in time, so Madeline and Fuji knew eachother pretty well.

"Why are you asking me?"

"I guess I thought that since you start drooling every time you see her, maybe you'd know her better than I do."

I most certainly did not drool over that girl; At least not when people were looking.

"Well if we don't want to walk home, we should probably head over there and see who we can mooch off of." Fuji said, a faint grin pulling on his lips as he looked at me.

We sorely made our way over to the crowd that lingered by the track, which was dissipating slowly. The meet was over, and the runners were scattered about, talking with friends, getting dressed into their normal clothes. I instantly saw Madeline, who was hovering by the fence. She dumped a bottle of water on her face, shaking the droplets out of her shortened hair.

"She got a haircut," Fuji said. It wasn't that noticeable, just enough to look different. "Hey," he called, catching her attention. She turned, water dripping off her skin, one of those gorgeous smiles on her face.

"What do you want, punk?" she kid, turning back to her pile of clothes. She peeled off her track shirt, right in front of us, down to a black sports bra. I let myself stare. This was a drooling moment. Her skin was fair, paler than the rest of her body. Her skin was tight across the ribcage, and bunched together to form perfect abs, and then stretched once more across her hip bones.

"A ride," he said, his voice a little lower than it had before. He was a sucker for pretty women, too, then. She pulled on a purple tank top that fit snuggly on her body.

"Sorry, it's my day off," she said mindlessly. I'm not quite sure where he head was when she answered, but it certainly wasn't about cars.

"Didn't you drive here?"

She looked at him. "You asked for a-OH." She laughed softly, her pearly white teeth glinting in the ridiculously bright sun. "Yeah, whatever."

She stepped out of her track spikes and hoofed it barefoot to the parking lot. I had never seen her car, or her relaxed. I liked her when she was happy. It made me happy.

She was parked all the way in the back corner, to a flashy red 2010 Camaro Concept.

"Wow," was all I could say. "Are these even out yet?"

"You can ride shotgun," she assured, ignoring my question, which probably means I didn't want to know the answer. She had a goofy grin on her face as she unlocked the car. We piled into the fancy car, looking at its perfection. There wasn't a scratch on the paint or a piece of dirt to be found.

"They must pay you a lot at that hospital," Fuji wowed, still looking around incredulously.

She grinned. "This isn't even my nice car."

"What is?" Fuji asked, interested.

"Porsche Carrera GT," she mused, pulling out of the spot.

Now there comes a time when you discover a flaw in your romantic interest. This time was now.

I won't call her a bad driver at all. She was actually an excellent driver, very smooth between transitions, all the right blinkers and such. But she drove fast. And when I say fast I don't mean 45 in a 40 zone. I mean 75 in a 40 zone. She weaved in and out of traffic, all while keeping complete control over her gear changes and traffic signals. I'm pretty sure she hit 100 at some point on the country road that led us out here. By the time we pulled into the parking spot back at our apartment building, I was about ready to crawl out of the car and vomit in the grass. Fuji and Oishi didn't seem affected, of course. They hopped out of the car, chatting animatedly about something or another. I leaned my head back, unwinding my seatbelt from my body.

"What's up with you?" she asked me. She had asked me this several times, but this time was different. It was like, this time, she actually cared. "Can't stomach my driving?" she smiled. I let myself out of the car, the fresh air soothing my blooming headache. I leaned against the side, rubbing my temples.

I didn't even notice her slide out of her seat and next to me. "Do you need a hug?" she asked, completely serious.

I looked to her, a smile playing on my lips.

"You know, you look quite handsome when you smile," she noted, moving to stand in front of me. She was almost the same height as me, maybe a few inches shorter. I don't know what was with her attitude today, but I liked it, a lot. Without thinking, I turned myself so that she was in between me and the car, but still enough room to be comfortable.

"So I should smile more often?" I murmured, resting my hands on the cool metal of her car so that there was a hand on either side of her. Since I was being so charismatic, I might as well make the most of it, right? And she was smiling, so I must have been doing something good.

I didn't even notice how close she was to me until I felt her warm breath dance across my lips as she breathed "definitely."

I paused. I knew what she wanted me to do. I was not familiar with this "lust" feeling, but I was most certainly enjoying it. But what did I know about her? I knew she was a surgeon that lived in the biggest penthouse in town and enjoyed drinking coffee and driving fast cars. Was I really going to submit myself like this on such an unstable platform? I thought for a moment.

Why yes, I was.

I dipped my head forward, capturing her lips with mine. I was happy with this, the unmoving, closeness sort of kiss. But she wanted more, and she showed me. She dragged her tongue slowly across my bottom lip, a smile dancing on her own. The same second she stepped closer is the same second Fuji yelled from the building across the parking lot, "TEZUKA, EIJI IS HERE!" Because I really wanted to be with Eiji when I could be kissing the girl of my dreams. Personal preference, you know? Either way, we tore apart, looking awkwardly to the ground.

"Um, well, thanks for the ride," I mumbled, taking a few steps back.

"Yeah, uh, anytime."

I turned to walk away.

"Hey, wait!" she called.

"What?"

"You still owe me 7 days worth of coffee." She was smiling again. "I'm working the night shift, so it would be preferable if you brought it around…4AM."

I stared.

"Or 5," she smiled, turning to lock her car.

Was 7 days of getting up at 4:30 to deliver coffee to some bipolar doctor who might hate me the next day worth getting on her good side?

If getting on her good side meant kissing her more, I was sold.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Prince of Tennis.

This chapter was really hard and awkward to write towards the end. Hopefully it's up to par with the others.

**Chapter 6: **The whatever chapter.

I woke up feeling lucky today.

It was like there was something in my head that was telling me what to do that guaranteed ultimate satisfaction. It was kind of ridiculous, actually, considering I had one of the worst nights of my life. Fuji had invited himself over to my room after breaking up with his girlfriend of 3 years, cried some, ate my food, cried some more, and fell asleep on my couch. I managed to fall asleep at 4:30, and was woken up at 5 by the drumline beating away relentlessly. It was Saturday; I had my last doctor's appointment today, at 7. I got dressed and made my way out of the lobby before I realized my shirt was on inside-out. I did a quick check to make sure there weren't too many people around and slid out of the shirt, quickly flipping it correctly.

"That's so unlike you," I recognized the voice of Ryoma Echizen, who was standing behind me, a bag around his shoulder. "What's got you up so early?"

"Drumline," I answered shortly, picking up my own bag. He joined me at my side, walking slowly. "And yourself?"

"The morning is the best time to be out. Not too many people, you know?" he said, taking a sip of his coffee.

We stayed silent, passing the football field, which was now full of sweaty band geeks lying on the ground, dumping water on their faces. Madeline was not among them, and I found myself somewhat disappointed. An hour passed as we sat on a bench, saying absolutely nothing, and I decided to head to the hospital. I said goodbye to Echizen, and slowly made my way to the building I knew all too well.

I checked in and sat down, flipping through an old magazine. When my name was called, I followed the nurse to the exam room, waited a few more minutes, and was somewhat surprised to see someone other than Madeline Griffin enter. Instead, there was a man who looked to be in his early thirties, with a tired face and messy brown hair.

"Hello there," he said as he looked down upon his clipboard. "You're Tezuka, I hope?"

"Yeah," I said, straightening in my chair. "But, sir, I thought I had an appointment with Dr. Griffin?"

"I am Dr. Griffin," he said, not looking up. He flipped through a couple of pages on his clipboard. "Your last physician requested a change a couple of days ago for personal reasons."

Personal reasons? I KNEW she was bipolar! I KNEW that if I kissed her she would hate me the next day!

"So there are two Dr. Griffins at this hospital?" I asked casually, still a bit hurt.

He sat down in front of me, proceeding with the normal massage therapy routine. "Three, actually. All related, nonetheless." He grinned, and that's when I saw the resemblance. They had the same smile.

"Is your entire family doctors?" I asked before I could stop myself.

He looked up at me and laughed. "No, just us."

Before I knew it, we were done, and I was standing awkwardly outside of the exam room. Right here, at this exact moment, is when my luck kicked in.

You know, I should go see Madeline Griffin.

I weaved my way through the halls towards her office. People either didn't care or didn't notice that I was walking the wrong way out of the building. People in white coats and colorful scrubs zipped around me, all business. I didn't really know where I was going; I had never been to her office before, but something inside me just knew which way to go. And in a matter of seconds I was standing face to face with the one girl who scared me and turned me on the most.

She looked absolutely awful, to say at best. Her hair was ruffled and knotted, her bangs hardly hiding the blackness that surrounded her eyes. There was dried blood spilled all down her green scrubs, and she was looking more unapproachable than ever.

"What?" she snapped, dragging herself down the hallway. I followed.

"Why did you switch me to your brother?"

She turned on me. "I could have gotten in a lot of trouble for kissing you."

"Actually, I kissed you."

"Oh because that makes everything better," she said bitterly. "I'm not about to lose my job because of something dumb like that."

"Kissing me is dumb?" I asked. That one hurt more than I thought it would.

She looked up, her face immediately softening. "That's not what I meant…I mean…Um…" She looked, for once, genuinely sorry.

I held the door out of the building open for her and she mumbled a soft thanks before turning to me.

"So what is it that you wanted?" I knew she was trying her hardest to sound calm, but I could hear the weariness in her voice.

"I, uh, well…" I trailed off. Why did I come to see her? There really was no particular reason. And come to think of it, I was exhausted myself. I sighed in defeat. "I guess I just wanted to see you." We had already arrived at our building (the hospital was a good 100 feet from our apartment building.) and riding in the elevator that was just so "us."

I'm not going to lie; I swear her face just lit up. "That's sweet," and with that she smiled one of her addicting, gorgeous smiles that just always made my day.

We stood there in silence. She was still smiling, looking up at the ceiling. My floor was coming fast. Did I want to make my move? I thought about it for a good 10 seconds before deciding that yes, heck yes, I wanted to make my move, but when I opened my mouth, she was already talking.

"Do you want to come upstairs with me?"

I stared. Of course I did. But how was I going to say it where I would sound like an eager fool?

"Sure," I tried to casually, but it came out sounding sickly and more like a question.

She looked me over with a concerned expression before let an awkward grin rest on her lips. I ran a hand over my face, trying to calm myself down. I was going crazy. It's not like I hadn't dated other girls. What was SO different about her?

Because the other girls I had dated (which, in total, lasted about a week) weren't even half as smart, successful, or lets face it, drop dead sexy as she was.

We arrived at the top floor, and calmness finally overtook me. I followed her out of the elevator and down a short hall to a door with a keypad instead of just a key. The carpet and walls were nicer up here, and huge glass windows on either end of the hallway were streaming in light, illuminating the brilliance. She punched in a few numbers and opened the door, letting me in first. I had never been in a penthouse before, so I don't know what I was expecting, but this was something else.

The first thing I saw was this gigantic plasma screen TV with surround sound and every gaming system I had ever seen set up in a very electronically intimidating manner. Across from that was the kitchen, which was shiny and expensive looking with state of the art appliances and a fancy marble kitchen island where two barstools were placed. There was a short hallway beside the kitchen that I assumed led to a bathroom.

"Want a tour?" she said, dropping her bag and shrugging out of her coat. The place was absolutely huge; there were two bathrooms and four bedrooms, one of which had been converted to an exercise room (a treadmill and a yoga mat located behind another huge-ass TV) and a small lounge which she had maybe a thousand books stacked around a plain wood desk. The only room she had yet to show me was her bedroom, but I wasn't going to push.

"And the staircase there leads downstairs to a private pool," she said, as if it was nothing.

"Aren't there people in the floor below?"

"No. Floors 17 and 18 are only accessed by employees, and floors 20 and 19 are mine."

"Wow. That's incredible." I breathed. She made her way back to the kitchen, opening the fridge. It was fully stocked and, from what I could see, had a good collection of alcohol. She pulled herself out a bottle of beer, uncapping it, and taking a swig. She leaned back on the fancy counter, drinking and watching me stand there awkwardly.

"Do you want something to drink?" she asked.

"No, thanks. This is one heck of a home," I said, moving on. "How on earth do you afford all this?"

"I work hard," she said. "And when my father died, I inherited almost all of his savings. He had enough money in that thing for me to quit my job, travel the world for forty years, come home and still have some left."

"I'm sorry," I said. "About your dad."

"It's not your fault," she mumbled, looking down. She looked so tired. I felt so tired.

"Well, um, I should go," I said. I didn't want to leave, but she just seemed so tired, and I could use a nap myself.

"You can stay, if you want. It's my night off, so I don't have to be anywhere until tomorrow night. And there's one last room I have to show you," she said, pulling me along by my arm. Her walk was like this half drunken, half dead waltz that included tripping over her own feet and few times. She finally reached a door after a series of winding hallways that I could never find my way out of.

When she pushed open the door, her room was like a pure ray of sunlight. There was a rather large bed in the center of the back wall, with a walk in closet that looked to contain a mixture of professional clothing and athletic wear. She pressed a button on a tiny remote and the blinds went down, making the room practically pitch black.

"Oops," she said sincerely, but didn't (or from what I could tell, I couldn't really see anything.) move to do anything. She had let go of my hand, and I sat on the edge of her bed, laying back. She rummaged around in her closet for a few minutes, but eventually laid herself down next to me.

"So what do you think?" she yawned, wrapping a blanket around herself. I had my hands behind my head, my eyes drooping.

"I think…I'll never invite you over to my apartment because it's embarrassingly un-cool compared to yours."

She let out a soft laugh. I could feel her breath tickling my face.

"I meant about this. About us." She said seriously, or as seriously as she could muster. Her voice was fading into sleep, and fast.

"I think…" my voice trailed off. My fingers found her face, grazing what I thought was her cheek gently. I searched around, making myself familiar before inching closer. My thumb was tracing her bottom lip (hopefully). I pressed a lopsided kiss to her lips (I missed the first time around) "I think it's okay," I said, a smile pulling on my own lips, something that so rarely happens.

"Okay," she whispered, curling herself into a ball by my chest.

I really hoped when she woke up in the morning she would be in a good mood.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

WOOOOHOOO! UPDATE!

It's short, but I haven't updated this story since last year O.O

Sorry. If you read, revieeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwww!11!

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis.

I woke up tired. I rolled over, rubbed my eyes, and sat up. The room was empty, and it was pitch black. I held my hands out in front of me, found my way to the door and followed several confusing hallways to the kitchen. Maddie was sitting on the couch in sweats, eating a bowl of cereal. The clock read 9PM.

"You have quite the schedule," I commented, sitting down next to her. She was watching some medical reality TV show.

She looked up, pushed up her glasses, and turned her attention back to the screen. Ok, so conversation was a no. I sighed and leaned back into the couch. It was then that I noticed that I had fallen asleep with all my clothes on, and my jeans were digging painfully into my hips. I so desired to unbutton them, but that wouldn't be appropriate.

I shifted in my seat, trying desperately to release my balls from my boxers, which had ridden up so far that if I was a woman, I could probably tuck my breasts in them. She looked over, a grin on her face.

"Uncomfortable?" she laughed. "You move around a lot when you sleep."

Who knew?

"Why do you act so different?" I blurted out. I don't know if it was the tightness in my crotch, or just a general desire to know why she liked me sometimes. I was tired of wondering.

"Huh?"

"When you're here, by yourself, you're the most amazing person I know. But when the lab coat goes on you're a completely different person."

She scooped the last bit of her lucky charms into her mouth, and then set the bowl down. She turned to me, her legs still crossed. "I take my job very seriously. Since I'm so young, I am the first one to get fired if something goes wrong. I got to college, participate in track and drumline, and still work full time as a doctor. I have to be serious when I work, or I could lose concentration, and damn, I could kill someone."

Well that made sense.

I sat back into her leather couch, running a hand through my hair. I slept the entire day and I was still tired. I hade a ton of calculus homework due tomorrow that I hadn't even started and I was starving.

"You okay?" she asked. She was still turned toward me.

"Yeah," I stood up, trying one final time to untangle my junk from the ruthless clothing. "I should go."

She stood up, stretching. She was smiling at me as she cracked her back. It wasn't weird or awkward; it was just perfect. I headed to the door, my heart beating just a little bit faster. She followed me. I let myself out, and she leaned on the frame.

We just stared for a few second. She was still smiling. Finally, she straightened herself up and walked over to me. Her thin arms wrapped themselves around my waist, pulling herself close to me. Her face just rested on my chest, and it felt so right, if that wasn't cheesy enough. She stood on her tip-toes to give me a soft, tantalizing, kiss and then turned to leave.

"Hey, wait!" I called, and grabbed her arm before she could slip inside the door. I had my hands on her cheeks, kissing her with all the force I could without hurting her. She backed against the wall, her hands splayed on it to keep her balance. After a few minutes she stopped, gasping for air, before retuning to me. Part of me wanted to march right back into her house and do it right there, but I had to stop myself.

With all the seriousness I could muster, I said, "We are going out tomorrow night. 6PM, I am picking you up and we are going on an official date."

Her eyebrows rose in approval, before she cracked a grin. "Well alright, Mr. High and Mighty."

I gave her one last kiss before I turned for the elevator. I stepped in, and just before the big doors closed, I heard her voice.

"Hot damn!" she said to herself, and I heard her door close.

Tomorrow was going to be a good night.


	8. Chapter 8

The next day dragged by. Every time I looked at the clock, only one or two minutes had passed and I would inwardly groan. My stomach turned every time I thought of our date. I had bought some cheap tickets to the Japanese Philharmonic Orchestra, which were probably some nosebleed seats in the way back, but why pay extra to watch something when all you needed was your ears?

When my classes finally got over for the day, I headed straight home. It was raining heavily, and I was walking quickly on the large sidewalk past the football field. The drumline was still out there, without their drums. They were all wearing white shirts and black shorts, which must have been some sort of uniform thing, and they were all screaming their music as they sprinted around the field. I caught Madeline standing on the edge of the group of people, goose bumps visible even from where I was standing. I was cold, and I was wearing a jacket. She caught my eye and smiled, then turned and sprinted away around the field. I felt a smile playing on my own lips as I watched her run around.

"Tezuka!"

I turned around, and Fuji was jogging toward me, wearing a tank top and shorts. "Are you coming?"

"Where?" I asked, watching him as he jogged right past me.

"Tennis workout!" he shouted, then took off toward the gym. I had completely forgotten about workouts. They were held by the assistant coach, and they weren't mandatory or anything, but they were good to stay in shape during the off season and to get on the coach's good side. I had completely forgotten about it, and I didn't have any clothes besides the jeans and shirt I was wearing. I just stood there for a few minutes, thinking about my options. Rain drops splattered on my glasses, almost screaming "hurry up!" as I shuffled aimlessly. I looked back to the flooded field. Drumline was over, and I saw Maddie walking toward me. I unzipped my jacket, holding it out to her. She gratefully accepted it as she laced her hand through mine. We walked, heading in no particular direction.

"So where are we going tonight?" she asked, and I could hear a little excitement in her voice.

"That's a surprise, though," I said, stroking her amusement. A smile etched on her pretty lips. Her phone rang. The smile dropped off her face.

"Dr. Griffin," she said, all business. A moment passed. "Absolutely not," was all she had to say. She set the phone on speaker as she opened up her calendar (it was an iPhone 4). "I can work the entire weekend, just not today."

"Madeline, I'm not playing games here," a masculine voice I recognized as her brother. "You know we're short on staff and Joan asked for tonight off months ago."

She shot me a desperate look and mouthed "I'm sorry." I shrugged, but couldn't hide my disappointment. "Fine," she said, not bothering to keep the anger out of her tone. He began to say something but she hung up before a complete sentence was made. We had stopped when she started talking on the phone. She hit her head on my shoulder a few times.

"It's really fine," I said. "I really just sprung this on you a day ago."

"It's not even that," she said angrily. "Joan gets everything she wants just because my retard brother is easily persuaded by sex appeal." Not sure how to respond to that, I awkwardly looked around as she typed furiously on her phone. Finally she put her phone in her pocket and looked up to me, a sad look on her face. "I'm really sorry."

I took her hand in mine again as we shuffled along the path. "Don't be. Work is important." She shook her head, her lips pursed. She was ticked. "We can go out some other night," I offered, forcing a grin. But she wasn't stupid. We could both see the unsaid emotions in each others faces. Hurt, most of all. We mumbled goodbyes and exchanged a hollow kiss before going our separate ways. I was already late for tennis and I didn't have any clothes but I headed to practice anyway. They made me run around in my jeans even though it was raining, so by the end of practice my waistband was so horribly chafed that the only thing I wanted out of life was to be free of these pants. After the almost hour long motion of inching home, I flung my clothes off, and ordered a pizza.

When I heard a knock on the door, I wrapped a towel around my waist, opening the door.

"Eiji?" I asked. He was wearing his little pizza delivery boy uniform, a smile from ear to ear.

"Hi! I thought I recognized the address."

"Come on in, I left my wallet on the counter."

He walked in and set my pizza on the coffee table. "Man, what have you been doing? This place is a mess." And he wasn't lying. Xbox games were scattered all over the floor in front of my tiny TV whose wires were poking out from every direction. It was a loft, so I had gotten rid of my bed and just slept on the giant couch I found at a garage sale that matched nothing in the room. Blankets were draped over the barstools I hadn't used in months. And the clothes. They were everywhere.

Who have I got to impress? "Yeah," I agreed. When I opened my wallet to get the money out my stupid tickets fell out. "What time do you get off? I have these tickets to go see some music thing at the theater on Main."

"You're my last stop, man."

"Here, dude," I said, handing him the tickets.

"No way. Really?"

I nodded. "I don't need them."

Eiji smiled exuberantly. "Thanks man! I owe you one!" And he turned on his heel and dashed out. I liked Eiji, but every time I thought of him I remembered my dog that I had for a grand 48 hours and then I just felt sad. Tonight I just felt sad.

I didn't even know what it was about her that I liked so much. The doctor side of her was aggressive and obsessive compulsive, demanding perfection and accepting nothing short of that. She was busy ALL the time with something, whether it be work or school. She never had any time for me and didn't act like she cared all that much either.

But I loved her.

And that was it. As I lay on my moth eaten couch wearing nothing but a pizza box and watching LOST in black and white, I knew. All her flaws, her imperfections, the way she bit her lip and ran her mouth. I loved it. I loved her. It even dawned on me that I really didn't even know much about her at all. What she liked, where she was born, what kind of music she listened to, her past relationships, if she liked pizza, when she wanted to become a doctor, or even what kind of soda pop she liked best was all a mystery to me. And I so badly wanted to know. I picked up my phone and stared at it for a minute.

"Where were you born?"

An hour must have passed before I got a response.

"Vegas." That was all. Not joke about it, no smiley face.

"That is classy."

"I try."

"Where else have you lived?"

Another hour must have passed. It was midnight now, and I was on my 4th hour of TV.

"CO, AZ, CA, NYC." I wasn't expecting much, but she kinda sucked at texting.

"Where's your family?"

"Here and there," she texted, quickly this time.

"Do you like dogs?"

"Yes."

"What about cats?"

"Not really."

"Do you like being a doctor?"

"No. I liked getting paid to be a doctor."

We were rapid fire texting, me asking random questions, her answering with one or two word responses. Another two hours passed, and I was starting to question whether she was actually working.

"No." she texted, in response to a question that I couldn't even remember. "Come up?"

"What"

"To me," she texted. I was tired and confused, so I threw on a pair of shorts and waited for the elevator to go up. I figured it was 2AM so no one would be in the elevators, but one creeped out couple and an awkward elevator ride later, I was knocking on Maddie's door barefoot and shirtless. Maddie flung open the door, looking glamorous in a black tank top and really short shorts (those must have been the ones Oishi and Fuji were talking about!). She didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around my neck and kiss me.

We stumbled into her apartment, me hastily kicking the door shut. Her breath tasted like tequila and peppermint, which I can't say was a smell I was in love with, but didn't care all that much. She stopped, downed another shot and resumed kissing.

We had to stop for air eventually, and she took a drink break, drinking straight out of the bottle this time.

"Work sucked?"

Her eyes opened wide and she tilted her head for another drink, nodding vigorously. She finally twisted the cap back on with much difficulty and returned to me, letting me cradle her in my arms as I carried her to her room. I tried to lay her on her bed, but her arms were locked around me so that I fell with her. She was in half doctor, half really drunk mode where she demanded my kiss, my touch, but giggled when she looked at me and wouldn't let go of me.

"I think it's time to go to bed," I told her, trying not to laugh. "Go change," I said, and she got a real serious look on her face.

"Look at Mr. High and Mighty, tellin' me what to do," she said, attempting to be serious, but couldn't stop herself from laughing. She walked into her closet and not 20 seconds came out stark naked, a smile from ear to ear.

I stared. I didn't mean to. But she was drunk and probably wouldn't remember this in the morning anyway. "I would say that is an acceptable form of sleepwear."

"What can I sayyy," she said, not bothering to hit the lights and plopping her self beside me. Her body was perfection, muscles poking out from under her unflawed skin, her hair falling down her back gently, as if it begged me to touch it. I couldn't help myself. Goosebumps formed on her skin as my fingers grazed her back, and she wasn't giggling anymore.

"I love you," she said soberly, not a trace of alcohol in her voice.

And that night, I loved her too.


	9. Chapter 9

Does anyone still read this? Lmao

This chapter has some language. So uh…be careful? Haha

Several months had passed since that night. Drumline ended, but she was working more hours than ever, and tennis was in full swing. We occasionally texted each other, but that was about it. About once a weekend, we hung out at her apartment, watching movies or catching up on the week. It sounds boring, but honestly I looked forward to it all week. I had asked her to be my girlfriend officially, and that's where we were right now; exclusive, but not too serious. And I didn't have a problem with that.

It was a cool May afternoon, and tennis had just gotten over for the day. I decided to shower at home, and just left in my sweaty tennis clothes. My phone buzzed in my pocket, but when I tried to pick it up, it slipped out of my sweaty palm and hit the ground. When I picked it up, the screen was completely black, so I just sighed and continued on my way home.

I dropped my keys and phone into the jar by the door, and jumped into the shower. I changed into jeans and a t-shirt, and settled down to look at my phone. After a few frustrating minutes, it finally pinged back to life, and I had about a dozen texts from Maddie.

'We need to talk.'

'At home now.'

'Wait, before you come can you pick up some packing tape?'

'Never mind, I'll get it.'

'Home now.'

'Shit, got the wrong tape.'

'Okay, finally home for good. Come up when you can.'

My stomach clenched. 'We need to talk.' Those were demon words.

It felt like an eternity getting up to her floor. Maybe it was because I was scared. Scared she was going to dump me. I had never felt this way before, about any one. It almost made me sick to my stomach how much I loved her. I tried to brush the feeling away. So what if she never actually said she loved me? Everyone goes through that.

Right?

The door was open, and I took a deep breath before knocking and heading in.

But the place was empty.

I mean, there were a few boxes of stuff scattered around the apartment. One with my name written on it caught my eye. Maddie was nowhere in sight, so I scooted closer to take a peek. In the box was the set of clothes I left there. A few movies that we had watched and loved. Books I had lent her. Everything we shared.

She walked into the room with a duffel bag slung over her shoulder. Her beautiful face was gaunt, her eyes bloodshot and emotionless. We stared at each other from across the room, too scared to move.

"What's going on?"

She looked like she was going to break down in tears. "My brother called me last night. Mom got into a car wreck and is really sick."

I opened my mouth to say something, but words were stuck in my throat.

"I have to go back to her."

"For how long?"

She shook her head, a tear sliding down her cheek.

"No," I said. I knew what she meant. She was leaving and never coming back. I took a step closer to her, and she took a step back. "We can work something out."

But she just shook her head again.

"Why?"

She was choking on her own words. "We can't."

"Why?" I asked again, a little harsher than I meant.

She straightened up, taking a deep breath. "I'm leaving, and I'm not coming back. My family needs me. My younger brother's lost both of his parents, and he needs me. I have to be strong, and I have to be responsible. We both know we can't make this work across continents."

She was dumping me. It was then that I knew it. She didn't even have to say it. I might as well spare her. Hurt and anger coursed through me, along with a fresh heap of desperation. We could make it work. I love you. Please don't leave me. I would rather die than live without you. I love you so much it hurts. All these thoughts ran through my head. But what came out was:

"Ok."

I took about a millisecond to register her reaction. Confusion.

And then I turned and left.

What the hell was wrong with me I didn't even know. She didn't come after me. I didn't look back. She knew what she wanted and she didn't care who she hurt to get it. Hadn't she always been that way? I should have seen it from the beginning. Why she always acted so different when she was a doctor. It finally registered in my brain that she didn't really care who she hurt to get what she wanted. It crossed my mind that this wasn't even her decision, that she was doing this for her family. But she didn't even try to make it work. She didn't even give me the grace of a warning.

I furiously stalked into my apartment, and then stood in the middle of the room, not knowing what to do.

All of the sudden, all anger and dark feelings left. There was a brief pause, and then a horrible, disgusting feeling sunk to the pit of my stomach that brought me to my knees. Sadness. Devastation. Hopelessness. All these emotions sat in my stomach, slowly pumping through my very core, poisoning my thoughts and feelings that I had always pushed away. Every thought that bothered me, every action that I pretended not to care about was bottled away, in hopes of never seeing it again. But as the drug seeped through me, every dark memory resurfaced involuntarily. My dad refusing to teach me to ride a bike. My mother scoffing over a grade. The sadness of a coach when I didn't practice hard enough. Never mind these things making me stronger, teaching me to be independent and to achieve what I wanted. They hurt now. Everything hurt now. I laid on the floor, trying to breathe. My lungs felt like they were filled with lead. I pulled a blanket over me, and let the hours slip into blackness.

When I woke up, my right eye was crusted shut. I rubbed at it furiously while I sat up, surveying my dark apartment. My clock read 3AM.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Think calm thoughts. Deep breathes. I opened my eyes.

Fuck.

The box full of our stuff sat in the middle of the room. She had been here.

I pulled it toward me, intending to destroy every last piece. I opened it and instead of our things, a piece of paper was taped to the bottom.

_I never said I didn't love you._

_Phoenix, AZ. _

I looked at the last line. Why would she do that? Why would she deliberately say we couldn't make it work with the distance, and then tell me where she was going?

I stood up with every intention of crumpling up this note and throwing it at her face. I took the elevator up, and knocked on the door. Okay, maybe I practically broke the door down. But you get the idea. When I was done freaking out, I noticed the vacant sticker and sunk to the ground. For the first time that night, I cried. For the first time in a long, long time, I let the emotions take control of my tears and just cried like a baby outside of my girlfriend's old apartment.

No. Ex-girlfriend.

When I finally got up, it was well past 8AM. I had already missed my first class, so I just went back to my room. I had a 'where are you' text from Fuji and one voicemail from Maddie. I responded to neither and pulled my blanket to my chin once again. But sleep didn't come so easy this time. I tossed and turned over the course of the day, only getting up when bodily functions arose.

A week passed, and I crawled through my routine. Each day dragged on for what seemed like forever. I realized that I was just going through the motions, but I just felt so hollow. There was one week left of school, and then I would be done with my freshman year. I didn't even know what I was studying. I felt like I was going nowhere in my life anymore. Sure, I still had tennis, but even that felt empty and pointless to me. With Maddie, I never even thought of the future. And that's all I thought about now. If I continued like this, I might as well just drop out.

Whoever thought I would be that guy? All through middle and high school, I had no interest in girls. I was so ready to start my life and I knew that if I got involved with someone, it would hinder my growth and expansion. Plus the girls that went to my school were airheads. That was a major factor as well. Then I was the captain of the tennis team, and that was the most important thing to me. Now I was just a freshman with no status.

Wednesday rolled around. I had 3 more classes this week, and then I was done. I dragged myself through the day, finally making it home at 4:30. I flopped on the couch in my sweaty clothes, and just sat. Never mind that finals were here or anything.

At 5PM, Eiji gave me a call. I let it go to voicemail, hoping he would get the hint and call later. But because it was Eiji, my phone rang probably 15 times before I got so annoyed that I just answered.

"Hello."

"Hey. You should come over when you can."

"Why?"

"Because!"

"Seriously Eiji."

"It's a surprise!"

"Goodbye, Eiji."

"SEE YOU SOON" he shouted before I could hang up.

Even though I seriously did not want to make human contact, I begrudgingly got up and headed to Eiji's house. He lived a good half hour away by bus, and the only thing I felt like doing was staring at the floor. After what seemed like an eternity, we came to my stop. I paid the driver and began to head down the long street. Eiji lived in the suburbs, so kids were out playing in the street and animals ran loose. It was getting dark, and I wasn't looking forward to trying to find a bus back into town.

I knocked like once and Eiji flung the door open, embracing me. Fuji was there as well, and he waved.

"We heard what happened."

It wasn't even worth getting mad over. I didn't even care.

"Eiji," I said through his chokehold. "Why am I here?"

"I have a surprise for you!"

He dragged me through his house to the backyard. I saw my dog, who was all grown up now, laying in a big fluffy bed being harassed by little black puppies.

"This is making me more depressed."

"Hang on!" Eiji said, and left Fuji and I in the middle of his back yard. He ran off into something that looked like a chicken coup, and disappeared.

"What happened dude?" Fuji asked gently.

I shook my head. "I don't even know."

Eiji returned with a squirming ball of fluff. He held it out to me.

"Take it."

I stared at it. A thousand thoughts ran through my head. I couldn't keep it in my apartment, I already knew that. But…

Maybe it was a sign.

All of the sudden it dawned on me. I knew what I was going to do with my life.

I was going to America.


End file.
